guest: i am not aware of any major ones for the fiscal cliff. going down the road, and you definitely have some issues. there is the need for a new highway bill. they have had trouble passing highly legislation because no one is willing to increase the gas tax. our gas taxes are the main way we pay for the new roads and bridges and that kind of thing. i think it is a relatively short-term problem. long term, we're going to need revenue to solve our future fiscal burden. one of the most sensible places to raise revenue would be through a carbon tax or something similar. that can also help to reorient our energy priorities to cleaner types of energy. host: i want to note that you can go to the c-span fiscal cliff website to get the latest information. you should be checking back over the next 48 hours as things develop. guest: 8 the deadline this afternoon. the senate has set a self- imposed deadline for 3:00. host: is that senator reid's plan b? guest: it is clearly fall back. we will try to come up with negotiations. if not, we will bring a bill